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14 Communications technology (1 questions)
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Encryption is the process of converting readable data (plaintext) into an unreadable format (ciphertext) to protect its confidentiality. This prevents unauthorized individuals from understanding the data, even if they intercept it. The ciphertext can then be decrypted back into plaintext using a key.
There are two main types of encryption:
- Symmetric Encryption: This uses the same key for both encryption and decryption. It's generally faster than asymmetric encryption. Examples include:
- AES (Advanced Encryption Standard): A widely used and highly secure symmetric encryption algorithm.
- DES (Data Encryption Standard): An older algorithm, now considered less secure due to its smaller key size.
- 3DES (Triple DES): An improvement over DES, using multiple rounds of encryption.
- Asymmetric Encryption: This uses a pair of keys – a public key for encryption and a private key for decryption. The public key can be freely distributed, while the private key must be kept secret. Asymmetric encryption is slower than symmetric encryption but provides stronger security for key exchange and digital signatures. Examples include:
- RSA (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman): A widely used asymmetric encryption algorithm.
- ECC (Elliptic-Curve Cryptography): Offers strong security with shorter key lengths, making it suitable for resource-constrained devices.
Encryption is crucial for securing data transmitted over networks like the internet, protecting sensitive information such as passwords, financial details, and personal communications.